Recorded between 1952 and 1960, the tunes on this 21-track set are some of Monk's most famous, many of them in definitive versions. They include his own compositions "Blue Monk," "Epistrophy," "Well, You Needn't," "Straight, No Chaser," and "'Round Midnight," as well as his take on popular standards like "Caravan," "I Want to Be Happy," and "Tea for Two." The other players comprise a who's who of jazz greats: Try Art Blakey, Kenny Clarke, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Coleman Hawkins, Roy Haynes, Johnny Griffin, Max Roach, and Sonny Rollins on for size!

"The same recording of 'Caravan' which felt stiff and tentative capping off 1955's uncharacteristically reverent Thelonious Monk Plays Duke Ellington feels light and airy here, a rest stop on the road from the reflective nine-plus minute 'Bemsha Swing' (from Miles Davis' 1954 Modern Jazz Giants session) to 1956's mathematically impossible 'Brilliant Corners.' These little disparities butt heads everywhere—from his smallest format (solo readings of ''Round Midnight' and 'Ruby, My Dear') to his largest ('Little Rootie Tootie' from 1959's gargantuan Town Hall Orchestra date), his best-traveled vintages (a 1957 septet take on 'Well, You Needn't') to his most impulsive sounds (the celeste/piano standoff on 'Pannonica'), this is T.S. Monk at his broadest and most articulate."—All About Jazz

"Once considered too challenging for mainstream audiences, Monk's gorgeous and engaging melodies have become part of the American jazz songbook and his solos models for players in many genres. That his music continues to set the standard a half-century later is further evidence that Monk was a true visionary."—Charleston Gazette